


The Starwatcher's Perspective of Events

by Fizonafan



Series: The Adventures Of The Crew Of The Starship Draugr [2]
Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28395300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fizonafan/pseuds/Fizonafan
Summary: Hello and welcome to the adventures aboard the Starship Draugr! Or, well.. not yet actually. We still need to find the *actual ship* first.
Series: The Adventures Of The Crew Of The Starship Draugr [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2079570
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. The Cartographer and Biographer's Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 CW: allusions to sex, alcohol and cigarette use.

***

6

***

The café was empty.

That was the first thing he noticed, the vintage style booths and tables clear of customers, the front counter unattended. He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, tipping his head back to peer at the sign above the door that read ‘Cup of Kofi’ in cheerfully flickering neon Basic.

“Well, hell,” he said, clicking his fingers to release some nerves.

Oregon hopped down off his shoulders and jumped up on the windowsill, cupping their hands between the glass and her screen and peering through into the gloom of the low-lit shop front. He hummed monotonously in dissatisfaction.

‘Are they closed?” She wondered aloud.

Edward carefully placed his instrument cases and stepped up behind Massachusetts, mirroring their position above her. Brian had said she owned the place. Maybe she was still inside?

“I swear, if we missed this pilot just for some nice new clothes, I’ll never forgive myself,” he muttered, brushing off some imaginary dust from his new vest. It was always a hassle to find things in his size thanks to his disproportionate torso and he had been excited to replace his ruined waistcoat so quickly, picking up a few new skirts at the same time.

To be fair, it wouldn’t really be that much hassle to wander back into the more populated sector of the station until they opened again. There was a bar they had spotted a bit away with a much more welcoming atmosphere that they could surely kill time in, maybe let Washington brush up on their tealeaf habits. Edward would be tempted to find some nice young thing to keep him distracted if he weren’t worried about Dakota wandering off and losing his battery again. But besides that, the Starwatcher could already feel the anxious creeping of electricity at the possibility of messing up the prophecy and snapped his fingers some more to ward it off.

He stepped back from the glass and brought a hand up to his face, letting out an exasperated groan. What if they’d gone to the wrong place?

“You going in or…?” A sudden voice piped up from behind the pair, causing them both to jump slightly, Edward’s hands coming alight at the possibility of danger as he spun around.

He was met with the sight of a grim looking person, a bit over half his height – although that wasn’t very strange, given Edward’s dominant stature – dressed in simple slacks and shirt with a cigarette hanging out of their mouth. They brought a lighter up to the un-lit end and flicked it on. Edward noticed they carried no bags so assumed they must be a station resident. He shook off the compulsion to ask them for a smoke so he could calm his racing nerves.

Their eyes flickered to the Starwatcher’s crackling palms but otherwise didn’t react as Edward shook off the lightning.

The cartographer cleared his throat in embarrassment, feeling his cheeks heat. “Sorry about that.” He was avoiding the stranger’s eyes, instead glancing about the otherwise empty space. “We weren’t sure if it was open or not,” he answered, gesturing between himself and Alaska where she stood, peaking around from behind his leg.

The stranger looked between the two of them, his gaze lingering on the packs Edward carried and the cases still sat beside him. They exhaled a breath of smoke, “Well it is, and I’m about to go in myself. So, either you’re getting out of the way or coming with me and I don’t really care which,” they said around the cigarette still hanging out their mouth.

Edward stooped down quickly and recollected his cases, “No yes! Right behind you,” and stepped aside as the stranger dropped their already finished cig and stomped it out, before sweeping past him and Kentucky and pushing open the door.

As they stepped in, they called out into the dim, “Oi Scottie! Couple tourists got lost, might need your help.” Before walking off to a corner booth and leaving the newcomers to stand awkwardly by the counter. Edward took momentary offence to the title but realised that based on their brief interaction, that’s exactly what he and his companion looked like.

Now that they were inside, it became apparent that there were in fact other patrons, though still not many. The door was apparently capable of deadening any sound that could escape and masking the patrons’ visages. The pair managed to spot five or six occupied tables, as well as a handful of staff milling about and dropping off drinks or wiping down tables before their collective attention was snatched away by the entrance of the establishment’s apparent owner, who swept through a swinging door behind the till.

“Welcome to Cup of Kofi!” She exclaimed in a lilting Irish accent to the apparent annoyance of a few of the café’s residents, based on the shared groan that rose from Edward and Nebraska’s surroundings.

The lady before them was dressed in a long and heavy navy trench coat and pilots cap. She had bright yellow-white hair and an eyepatch covered her right eye, a pair of goggles dangled around her neck. All in all, just about as theatrically dressed as Edward himself. She grinned and leaned forward, planting her hands on the counter between them.

“Now what do we have here?”

Her one visible eye glimmered unnaturally and a wave of light emanated out behind the skin of her face from under the eyepatch and Edward was suddenly gripped with the feeling of being utterly Seen. His spine flared up at the intrusion and immediately his skin was covered in a defensive crackle as his whole body tensed. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted California clambering up onto the counter.

They didn’t so much defend him as warn the woman in a cheery tone, “You probably don’t want to piss him off, miss,” before sitting down out of the way and crossing their legs, pulling out their keyboard and preparing for the show.

She blanched slightly as the electric glow grew but continued to drink in the sight before her. Edward grimaced. Brian hadn’t warned him about  _ this _ . He really disliked the concept of harming his apparent new pilot, but if he was going to be travelling with her for the foreseeable future, she’d probably need to be able to survive more than his bolts and based on her intrusive abilities he figured she’d be able to handle it.

“You should really listen to him,” he said, before reaching forward with one hand and letting loose a bolt.

It caught her in the chest, and she staggered back in shock but just as it seemed she was going to collapse, another wave of light radiated from her eyepatch and she righted herself, grabbing at the counter again for stability.

She gasped out a laugh and shook herself, “Oh! Tingles!”

Edward sighed in unexpected relief, dropping the lightning as her broken concentration caused the Feeling to let up. “Oh thank gods, you are immortal then.”

She was still flicking her hands, and trying to rid herself of the aftershocks, “And so are you, Starwatcher.”

That feeling of being Known rolled over him again and he frowned. He glanced around at the apparently uninterested crowd; none of them had so much as glanced up from their drinks at the disturbance. He looked back to the pilot, “This is business as usual then?”

She glanced about as well, “Pretty much, yup,” she grinned again and stuck out a hand, “Scottie Jack Wilkinson at your service, I didn’t get much more than that title before you shocked me, is that what you like to be called?”

Edward took her hand, allowing just a bit more of a shock to pass through their grasp, “Starwatcher Edward’s the full thing,” and then he addressed Louisiana, “would you like to introduce yourself dear?”

She perked up at the sound of one of her many names but sighed theatrically, “I really was expecting a more interesting display you know, just a bit of death? Even temporarily?” She nonetheless stood and pushed their keyboard back in, brushing down his oversized sweater before sticking out their small hand toward Scottie, who took it without hesitation.

“I’m here too! You can call me whatever really, but if you’d like to use whatever you did to Eddy to find a nice name in my head I won’t mind.”  **[:)]** lit up their screen as he spoke. “Do you think we could get something to eat though?”

“Oh yes a coffee would be lovely,” Edward tacked on.

Scottie nodded yes. “Oh, of course!” She turned back and stuck her head through the door from which she’d come, “Kofi! You wanna grab us some grub? I’m taking my break.” And then she planted a hand on the counter and lept over, her coat billowing behind her, joining Edward and Mississippi, and leading them over to an empty table and taking a seat. The others followed suit, Edward placing their packs on one of the chairs and Carolina clambering up to use them as a booster chair. As Scottie spoke up, they pulled out his keyboard and began recording their surroundings.

“S’what brings a couple immortals to my fine establishment?"

Edward decided to cut to the chase. “Well simply speaking, a prophecy.”

He briefly described the nature of Brian’s abilities and a short outline of the Words he had shared, carefully avoiding the actions Scottie herself was supposed to take, just in case. Despite his speed, in the time he took to speak a few drinks and plates arrived, and Scottie tipped her hat at the server in thanks. Kansas paused in his typing to grab some fries and stuff them on his screen. Edward pulled out a handkerchief and silently passed it over.

“So, that damn Drumbot is sending me strays now huh?” Scottie mussed, sipping at her cup.

Edward hummed in agreement, wringing his hands. He’d finished his own coffee as soon as it had arrived, much to the concern of his companions.

“Well, he’s got good timing, I’ll give him that.”

Edward barked a short laugh, “Well I’m told he’s got a clock built in there somewhere, so you’d hope so.”

Michigan finished wiping off her screen and spoke up, “Miss Wilkinson? Would you mind answering a few questions?”

Edward moaned in good-natured exasperation, “Not now dear, you’ll have plenty of time later for an interview.”

Scottie smiled, “Oh no it’s fine! I’ve certainly got a story to tell, but like you say, we should have time later. What I will say is this; I’ve been getting a little tired of running this place, was gonna head off soon, but I needed a new crew to do so. Y’see I used to fly with Kofi and a few others on the Star Raiser, but that went a bit wrong, so the two of us settled here.” She steepled her fingers and leant forward on the table. “It’s rough going trying to find other immortals out there who’re interested in flyin’. But here you are it seems.”

Edward spread his arms wide, preparing to advertise himself, “here we are indeed, at your service, as you said. I’ll be honest, I can handle myself around some simple vessels, but my true skills lie in cartography. And if I’m being really honest, I’m just looking for someone who can cart me around to see some pretty stars and planets.”

At that Pennsylvania spoke up, “Same here! I’m just looking for some interesting stories to collect. When we were on the Aurora, we ran into a lot of exciting people, so I had plenty to record. And if you need, I can get into most any vents or crawl spaces whenever repairs need doing.”

Scottie grinned, “So what I’m hearing is, you’re looking for adventure?”

Edward mirrored her expression and  **[ >:D] ** lit up Arizona’s screen.

“Exactly.”


	2. We Need A Ship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 CW: Addiction-like behaviour from an immortal, swearing

***

7

***

“I still can’t believe it Scottie.”

The pilot held her hands up in defence, leaning away from him where she sat atop the table. “Look I was gonna figure something out! I just… hadn’t got around to it yet.”

Edward dropped his head to the table, smushing his glasses into his face and jostling the cups and crumpled papers covered in discarded plans surrounding him. 

No ship. There was. No. Ship.

“We’ll just steal the next thing that comes in. What are they gonna do? Shoot us?” Scottie reasoned.

“What even comes to this fucking backwater?” Edward mumbled into the table, “Aurora was the most interesting thing for light years.” 

“Oi, don’t come comparing anything round here to her, that ain’t fair lad.”

Edward knew she was right, but grumbled petulantly anyway, picking at the flaking false wood along the edge of the table.

Scottie smacked his hand away, “Look, complainin’ ain’t gonna get us nowhere. We need action.”

Despite her words, she stayed put, kicking her legs as she thought. “Where’s Ohio? She probably has ideas, right?” 

Edward picked his head back up and glanced about the half full café. Generally speaking, he wouldn’t call their ideas  _ good  _ per se, but he agreed that they at least needed a better sounding board than just getting annoyed at each other.

“Still interviewing Wylan I think.” Edward appreciated that someone was entertaining Wisconsin’s habits but still wished the two of them were here too for this discussion. He picked up a pen and began sketching a couple constellations to keep his hands busy, absentmindedly reaching for a cup. When he brought it to his lips, it became apparent that there was in fact, no coffee left. He sighed and looked over at Scottie. Despite him being sat in the booth and her atop the table, he barely had to tilt his head to look up at the pilot.

She grimaced and waved away his silent request, “Oh get it yourself, you addict. The pot is on the bench.”

Edward frowned, he disliked the filter stuff and much preferred espresso but reasoned to himself that it was a bit unfair to demand someone pull a new shot every time he wanted a cup. “Not an addict,” he grumbled as he hefted himself up and stalked over to the counter. Filling his cup and taking a long swig, he placed it back down carefully and slid himself over the counter, shouldering open the door and stepping through into the back room in search of the engineer and biographer.

He found them sat around a low table covered in what Edward assumed was a map of some kind. Or rather, Wylan was on a cushion on the floor, Hawaii on the table itself. Edward hummed a low laugh at their accidental imitation of Scottie and his own positions outside. Wylan was excitedly describing something or another, his hands gesticulating wildly but fae paused at Edward’s noise. Indiana looked up at xyr silence, his hands hovering over their keyboard.

Wylan smiled at the cartographer’s arrival, waving him over. As Edward approached, he got a clearer look at the map. It looked like it detailed a complex of some kind, and although the language of the plans was unintelligible to him, it was clear that it was military in nature, the particular shape of landing docks and barracks clearly outlined.

Montana beeped twice and Edward looked over to see that her screen had lit up with  **[PLAN!]** in bold letters. He smiled at her excitement but held his hand up to stop the two of them before turning and sticking his head back out into the café proper. He spotted Scottie laid out over the table in a seemingly very uncomfortable position, caught up in her thoughts and spinning a miniature galaxy between her palms. 

“Hey! Get in here, the smart one’s have figured something out.” He brought his head back in to see the pair smiling at the praise.

The distinct sound of Scottie’s coat flapping and heavy boots landing on this side of the counter followed quickly and preceded her dramatic entrance as she barrelled through the door. “They couldn’t tell us before we’d died of boredom?”

***

Edward held the rolled-up map, the familiar grip and clear outline of a plan in his mind greatly bolstering his spirits and watched as Wylan and Scottie prepared their temporary vessel for flight. It would be a tight fit for the four of them, but it should serve their purposes just fine. According to the engineer’s calculations, it would carry them just far enough to reach the outpost where they would have their pick of the bunch of The LICH fleet, provided they could get in unnoticed. Maine loaded their go bag in, the other’s already in place. They were travelling light; the rest of their collective possessions would wait in the safety of the café until their return. Edward smiled at the prospect of the approaching adventure.

A series of complicated beeps emitted from the pilot’s console as Wylan extracted themself from the hatch of the cramped engine room below it. Scottie leant down and offered a hand, pulling him out the rest of the way. The engineer brushed back faer hair and Edward offered his handkerchief for their oil-stained face.

“Thanks mate,” Wylan said with a grateful smile, swiping at the marks with the square of fabric.

“Are we ready to rock?” The cartographer asked as Wylan shrugged his coat back on and handed back the handkerchief.

He looked up with a smile and nodded. “As we’ll ever be.”

Delaware hopped up out of the storage compartment, “Everything’s ready in here!”

Scottie turned in her seat before the console and adjusted her cap atop her head. “Strap yourselves in kids,” She grinned as a phrase came to mind. “It’s crime time.”


End file.
